Moll. 1,770 Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Mine lives indoors, he does shiver when out working but as someone else has said, no more or less than any other lurcher. I think the idea that whippets 'break easily' is just that, someones idea they will because they are a slight framed dog. Imo they have just as much chance as most other dogs and less than others. All to do with weight/force, a slight framed dog is going to have less weight behind it so the force of impact will be just the same as a dog double the weight with a thicker set frame. Never had a skin tear with mine, his only injuries have been on the bridge of his nose from collisions, and he has been hung up on barbed wire etc etc just the same as any of my other dogs who have had tears/rips. I have found the whippet to be a lot less maintenance than any other running dog Ive owned. I can run him slightly overweight, slightly under, never really need any special foods or additives and he never seems to suffer for it. I'm not sure i agree with you Moll. Granted, my lad is worked in all weathers, on some pretty rough terrian, and asked to face some harsh cover and obstacles, and he never backs down. But if he collides with something sharp, or just bounces off / over barbed wire, he usually walks away with some nasty skin tears, in the last 12 months, he has had four trips to the vets to be sewn back together. He is however i total nut job. I think some dogs are just like that, regardless of the breed. I have a big lurcher dog (breeding unknown) he just needed to look at something sharp and his skin split, i likened it to wet tissue paper The whippet is coming up to 4yrs and never had a tear yet. Never had any problems with feet either mackay. Perhaps i have just been lucky, perhaps it will all fall apart as he gets older, who knows. But i talk from my experience, and he has never been a problem health/injury, endurance wise Quote Link to post
Coneytrappr 30 Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Mine lives indoors, he does shiver when out working but as someone else has said, no more or less than any other lurcher. I think the idea that whippets 'break easily' is just that, someones idea they will because they are a slight framed dog. Imo they have just as much chance as most other dogs and less than others. All to do with weight/force, a slight framed dog is going to have less weight behind it so the force of impact will be just the same as a dog double the weight with a thicker set frame. Never had a skin tear with mine, his only injuries have been on the bridge of his nose from collisions, and he has been hung up on barbed wire etc etc just the same as any of my other dogs who have had tears/rips. I have found the whippet to be a lot less maintenance than any other running dog Ive owned. I can run him slightly overweight, slightly under, never really need any special foods or additives and he never seems to suffer for it. I'm not sure i agree with you Moll. Granted, my lad is worked in all weathers, on some pretty rough terrian, and asked to face some harsh cover and obstacles, and he never backs down. But if he collides with something sharp, or just bounces off / over barbed wire, he usually walks away with some nasty skin tears, in the last 12 months, he has had four trips to the vets to be sewn back together. He is however i total nut job. I think some dogs are just like that, regardless of the breed. I have a big lurcher dog (breeding unknown) he just needed to look at something sharp and his skin split, i likened it to wet tissue paper The whippet is coming up to 4yrs and never had a tear yet. Never had any problems with feet either mackay. Perhaps i have just been lucky, perhaps it will all fall apart as he gets older, who knows. But i talk from my experience, and he has never been a problem health/injury, endurance wise Why whippet has annoying skin [ runs near something sharp and tears] but she has good tough feet and can't complain about her stamina either. She had a run and caught a very fast rabbit yesterday and was ready to go again quite quickly. Quote Link to post
Ideation 8,216 Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Mine lives indoors, he does shiver when out working but as someone else has said, no more or less than any other lurcher. I think the idea that whippets 'break easily' is just that, someones idea they will because they are a slight framed dog. Imo they have just as much chance as most other dogs and less than others. All to do with weight/force, a slight framed dog is going to have less weight behind it so the force of impact will be just the same as a dog double the weight with a thicker set frame. Never had a skin tear with mine, his only injuries have been on the bridge of his nose from collisions, and he has been hung up on barbed wire etc etc just the same as any of my other dogs who have had tears/rips. I have found the whippet to be a lot less maintenance than any other running dog Ive owned. I can run him slightly overweight, slightly under, never really need any special foods or additives and he never seems to suffer for it. I'm not sure i agree with you Moll. Granted, my lad is worked in all weathers, on some pretty rough terrian, and asked to face some harsh cover and obstacles, and he never backs down. But if he collides with something sharp, or just bounces off / over barbed wire, he usually walks away with some nasty skin tears, in the last 12 months, he has had four trips to the vets to be sewn back together. He is however i total nut job. I think some dogs are just like that, regardless of the breed. I have a big lurcher dog (breeding unknown) he just needed to look at something sharp and his skin split, i likened it to wet tissue paper The whippet is coming up to 4yrs and never had a tear yet. Never had any problems with feet either mackay. Perhaps i have just been lucky, perhaps it will all fall apart as he gets older, who knows. But i talk from my experience, and he has never been a problem health/injury, endurance wise Aye, i'd go with you on the feet, their like a cat and he's a tough little bugger with plenty of stamina and grit. Just the combination of high drive and not the toughest skin in the world, can cause problems Quote Link to post
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